Statement issued this afternoon:

“We demand first that the Israeli soldiers be returned to Israel healthy, that the attacks on Israel cease, and then naturally for Israel to halt military action,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.

At least Merkel’s got the priorities right.

Then this from the ABCNews.com report:

Group of Eight leaders on Sunday blamed extremists for an upsurge of Middle East violence and while accepting Israel’s right to defend itself said the Jewish state should exercise “utmost restraint.”

Setting out conditions for an end to violence, G8 leaders in summit talks in Russia put the onus on Hizbollah militants to restore peace by releasing abducted Israelis and ending attacks on Israel.

Then the Israeli offensive against Lebanon could end, said the statement.

“These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos,” said the text hammered out by the leaders of the world’s richest nations.

And some unnecessary reminders, as if Israel wasn’t already doing this:

The G8 asked Israel to be mindful of “the strategic and humanitarian consequences of its actions.”

It should exercise utmost restraint to avoid civilian casualties, damage to buildings and the destabilization of the fragile Lebanese coalition government, the leaders said.

On “restraint,” John McCain (yes, McCain) has it right via Ian Schwartz:

Norah O’Donnell: As you know the President is in Russia with the G-8 leaders at this time. On the way there…uh, he spoke on the phone with several Arab leaders. In particular the Lebanese Prime Minister, uh…who asked if the President is going to try and rain in the Israelis.

Tony Snow was asked about that, uh…and he says, “No. The President is not going to make military decisions for Israel.” But let me ask you, should Israel exercise some restraint?

John McCain: sh…wha…should…shouldn’t…shouldn’t the question be, shouldn’t Hezbollah exer…and…Hamas exercise restraint? Their the ones who initiated this. Shouldn’t they be the one’s who say: “Ok we’ll still be launching rockets, we’ll stop killing and capturing Israelis? Uhh… And then we can sit down and have a roadmap for piece.

Wh…why is it that the Israelis are somehow the ones to be [reined] in? Shouldn’t we [rein] in those wh…who initiated these attacks?

FoxNews.com has more on the G8 statement and Americans evacuating from Lebanon.

Bush and Blair name names:

The release of the statement followed a call earlier in the day from President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair to root out the forces behind the attacks. They said Iran and Syria backed an escalation in the violence.

“There are those in the region, notably Iran and Syria, who do not want this process of democratization and negotiation to succeed,” Blair said after a meeting with Bush. “There has been a real hesitation to put the real truth of this situation.”

The J-blogosphere blog is a central location for those liveblogging the war around Israel. Truth Laid Bear’s excellent Mideast Crisis tracking page is a must-bookmark. Pajamas Media has a breaking news mega-round-up.

Jerusalem Post reports that kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive.

Joel Mowbray continues his reports from Israel for Power Line.

Dan Riehl is encouraged.

Allah is your first and last stop for news on the latest developments.

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